Page 40 of The Marriage Deal
"She wants to do some work at Gobekli Tepe, and is looking for some funding."
"What do you think?"
"You want my input?" Surprised that he even cared about it.
He nodded.
"It sounds like a fine project. If the university becomes the first to make a discovery at the new site, it would be an achievement for the school. Plus, I think it would turn Patty into a rockstar. But the little about the project I know, I know from Jess. They've worked together before."
Levi nodded. "I'll think about it."
"Don't take my word for it! I'm just, you know. She came to me asking to talk to you."
"She has your seal of approval."
I rolled my eyes. "If you end up paying for her expensive holiday, don't come blaming me. What about your project? Anything new."
He shook his head. "We're still trying to scan and upload all the coded letters so we can decipher them without ruining the documents."
"And you haven't found a key?" Most coded letters of that time period came with a key in at least one of the letters. It was usually more of a clue than a key. But that they had found no key meant the information was probably very important. My pulse raced. "This could be it. Maybe Beth was right."
He smirked. "I would hold off on that one. That woman is a bit cuckoo."
"What! I like her."
"That's because you haven't heard her go on about those letters. She thinks there's a smoking gun hidden in the code."
I shrugged. "Who knows?"
We went to a wine tasting event after leaving the restaurant. It was then that I knew he had planned this out. The wine shopjust so happened to be open even though they close at seven. And they just so happened to admit two more people before they closed their doors. A kind-looking middle-aged woman showed us to a shiny wooden table for two. The wooden chairs weren't as uncomfortable as I thought they would be. The middle-aged woman came in with a bottle of white wine, told us a brief history of where the grapes were grown, poured it into two glasses, and left us again.
"Are you going to tell me you just happened upon this place as we were walking?" I said as my gaze darted around the place, noting the exposed brick wall. The wine barrels lined the edge of the walls, and a bar in the corner with a bartender wiping glasses. "They put a closed sign after we entered."
"We're lucky, I guess." His gaze averted mine.
"Very lucky. So lucky that the theater just so happened to be showing my favorite movie even though they had planned on showing a western. So lucky we keep stumbling upon good restaurants and wineries that coincidentally don't have any customers on a busy night?"
"Fine, you got me. I just wanted a night where we are alone."
My eyes narrowed. "Levi? What are we doing?"
"Drinking wine." He raised his glass.
"You know what I mean."
He put down his glass. "Is it so bad for a man to take his wife on a date?"
"Right?" My hackles rose. "Is that what this is?"
"It's whatever you want it to be."
I dropped the subject, and we tasted a few more wines. They all danced on the palate, and when I showed interest in one, Levi offered to buy it. I thought it was going to cost maybe an amount in the tens of dollars. Hundreds if it was expensive. So imagine my surprise when the nice-looking lady mentioned an amountin the thousands. I was too stunned to say anything when Levi swiped his card like he was buying a pair of socks.
We reentered the busy town streets, the chill wind hitting my cheeks as soon as I stepped on the pavement. The warm light of streetlights paired with stars in the cloudless sky made for a romantic mood. Something I least expected from this town of civil war reenactments and paranormal tours.
"You didn't have to buy it," I said, holding up my bottle of wine. I tried to ignore the light touch of his hand on the small of my back, which I should have gotten used to by now. But my body was fully aware of every point his fingers touched, even when it was the barest of touches. The soft fabric of my white dress was a flimsy barrier. Warmth spread through my body that had nothing to do with the wine we drank earlier.
"You wanted it." Levi spoke with his head facing straight ahead. So nonchalantly, as though it were a fact of life.
